The beginnings of a Cape Cod Baseball League summer are often short on clear lines. Everybody’s shuffling – and a lot of times, everybody’s 3-2 or 2-3.
Not so in 2013.
Chatham is 5-0, the best start for any Cape League team since the 2007 Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, a club that won the league title and featured Buster Posey and Gordon Beckham. Hyannis is 3-0, having made up for lost time after its first two games were postponed. And Cotuit has ridden a three-game winning streak to a 4-1 start.
All three are impressive. The most interesting streak belongs to Cotuit.
Chatham and Hyannis are succeeding in part because they have the teams they thought they’d have. For both, only six players who weren’t on initial rosters are playing now – which is among the lowest numbers in the league at this point.
On the flip side, 33 players have taken the field for Cotuit – and 17 of them were not on the team’s roster a few weeks ago. Whether they’re temporary contracts or late pickups, it’s a juggling act for the Kettleers.
They have made it work.
Cotuit’s only loss was by a run in a walk-off to undefeated Chatham. The Kettleers moved to 4-1 on Monday with a 6-1 victory over Brewster.
Bradley Zimmer (San Francisco) led the charge in the latest win, going 3-for-5 with a home run, a double and an RBI. Hunter Cole (Georgia) continued his hot start with a 2-for-4 day, and he’s not hitting .400. Connor Castellano (Sante Fe CC), a TCU commit who’s in town on a temporary contract, had another big night, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and his fourth stolen base. He ranks second in the league in hitting, is tied for the league lead in RBI, and ranks second in stolen bases.
Another temp, Eric Karch (Pepperdine), got the start on the mound and the victory on Monday. He struck out four and allowed one run in five innings. Joel Seddon (South Carolina) followed with two scoreless innings. And for good measure, another temp, Trevor Seidenberger (TCU) finished the job with three strikeouts over the final two frames.
The roster juggling will continue over the next few weeks as Cotuit decides who’s staying and who’s going. But if five games are any indication, the winning will continue too.
Chatham 4, Falmouth 2
The Anglers ran their record to 5-0 with another steady performance. Andrew Chin (Boston College), who pitched out of the bullpen for a win on opening night, picked up another victory with five strong innings. He struck out two and didn’t allow a hit until the fourth. The Chatham offense – which has scored the most runs in the league and has the best batting average by more than 50 points – also kept it up and did its part. Jimmy Pickens (Michigan State) hit the team’s first home run and Mitchell Gonsolus (Gonzaga) also drove in a run. Connor Joe (San Diego) and Brandon Sedell (Nova Southeastern) had one hit apiece. Jacob Dorris (Texas A&M Corpus Christi), who saved 13 games this spring, made his second appearance of the summer and worked a scoreless frame for his first save. For Falmouth, Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State) hit a home run and Casey Gillaspie (Wichita State) had a double. Richard Martin, Jr. (Florida) stole his league-leading sixth base.
Hyannis 5, Wareham 4
The Harbor Hawks moved to 3-0 with a comeback win over the Gatemen (1-3). Wareham led 3-0 into the seventh, with Andro Cutura (Southeastern Louisiana) cruising on the mound, but Hyannis scored a run there and four in the eighth to take a lead it never lost. Chase Griffin (Georgia Southern) led the charge with two hits and an RBI, while Tyler Spoon (Arkansas), Dominic Jose (Stanford) and Ryan Padilla (New Mexico) all drove in a run. Patrick Andrews (Clemson) got the win in relief and Eric Eck (Wofford) picked up the save, getting out of a two-on, two-out jam in the bottom of the ninth.
Bourne 6, Orleans
Bourne picked up its first victory of the season in dramatic fashion, walking off with a win in the bottom of the 10th inning. Michael Martin (Harvard) knocked in Max Pentecost (Kennesaw State) with a base hit to give the Braves the victory. The alternative would have made for a frustrating night – the Braves pounded out 17 hits, a league-high this season. Matt Gonzalez (Georgia Tech) and Tim Caputo (Rhode Island) led the way with three hits apiece, while Clinton Freeman (East Tennessee State) had two hits and two RBI. On the mound, the Braves used seven pitchers. Cody Livingston (Southern Mississippi) picked up the win.
What to Watch
Several pitchers who were impressive on opening night will make their second starts tonight. Erick Fedde (UNLV) goes for Y-D at Cotuit after striking out eight in his debut, while Andrew McGee (Monmouth) tries to build on a nine-strikeout debut as Chatham visits Hyannis in a battle of the only unbeaten teams in the league. In Falmouth, standout lefty Brandon Finnegan (TCU) will make his second and final start before departing for Team USA.
This time of year on the CCBL calendar is always interesting. A bunch of temporary players can dig a sizable hole by the time the “real roster” shows up. In other words, Anglers, pile up those victories over Harwich and Y-D while you still can! When eight out of ten teams make the playoffs, I suppose it doesn’t really matter that much.
I always root for temp players to earn full-season contracts. It might be fun to do a post on some of the great stories from past seasons. Of course Kyle Roller is the most famous one, but didn’t Zak Blair start off as a temp for Y-D last season? And didn’t Hyannis have a power-hitting first baseman from Delaware a few seasons back?
Question: Are other teams playing “Call Me Maybe” on the PA system whenever Harvard’s Mike Martin comes to bat?
Last season I always chuckled when Brewster’s Ryon Healy came to bat and the fans (or interns) at Harwich yelled “Ry-OWN!” to emphasize his unusual spelling. Some of the Whitecaps players picked it up and were teasing Healy about it.